Archive for October 11th, 2008

The angry mobs at McPalin rallies haven’t been doing a good job of getting a cohesive message across. Sure, they’ve mastered calling Obama a “terrorist/Muslim/Arab/other” while preparing their lighter fluid for the crosses they’re going to put in the yard. But that doesn’t accurately express the fact that the Christian God is more invested in this election than He is in the results of the Super Bowl. And all the other religions are just haters trying to bring the man (McCain- or God, they’re a bit synonomous here) down. So sayeth Pastor Arnold Conrad during an invocation prior to McCain’s speech in Davenport, Iowa today: 

I also would also pray, Lord, that  your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god–whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah–that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons.  And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens.  So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and election day.”   

See what he did there? God’s on McCain’s side because McCain’s a Christian- unlike that Barack Obama. It doesn’t matter that Obama has stated numerous times that he is Christian or that one of his only big controversies has involved the reverend of his Christian church. Some minds just haven’t the time for all that subtlety. 

That there are enough ignorant, hate filled individuals in this country to fill up a McCain-Palin rally is of no surprise to me. I’ve lived in the South and visited the rural Midwest so I’ve seen this type in their natural habitats (their vile natures are as jarring when encountered one on one as when they’re assembled). But I am surprised that it took the McCain campaign so long to denounce the lynch mob mentality forming around them. This has been a major topic of discussion in the media all week, with virtually every major paper (and blog) devoting column space yesterday to their fears of where this behavior could lead. It seems unlikely that the McCain campaign was clueless as to what was happening and how it was playing out among the sane and non-hate mongering.

Ana Marie Cox was on the ground when John McCain finally attempted to twart some of the bigoted anger among his supporters while speaking at a rally yesterday. Though he tried, it’s obvious that train has left the station and he’s no longer (if he ever was) the conductor:

But then something weird happens: He acknowledges the “energy” people have been showing at rallies, and how glad he is that people are excited. But, he says, “I respect Sen. Obama and his accomplishments.” People booed at the mention of his name. McCain, visibly angry, stopped them: “I want EVERYONE to be respectful, and lets make sure we are.”

The very next questioner tried to push back on this request, noting that he needed to “tell the American the TRUTH about Barack Obama” — a not very subtle way, I think, to ask John McCain to NOT tell the truth about Barack Obama. McCain told her there’s a “difference between record and rhetoric, and I plan to talk about his record, respectfully… I don’t mean that has to reduce your ferocity, I just mean it has to be respectful.”

And then later, again, someone dangled a great big piece of low-hanging fruit in front of McCain: “I’m scared to bring up my child in a world where Barack Obama is president.”

McCain replies, “Well, I don’t want him to be president, either. I wouldn’t be running if I did. But,” and he pauses for emphasis, “you don’t have to be scared to have him be President of the United States.” A round of boos.

And he snaps back: “Well, obviously I think I’d be better. ”

Of course, this is kind of the best of both world: Crazy base-world gets to bring up Ayers and whatever else, really, and he gets to say, “Be respectful.” But I think he means it.

UPDATE: Indeed, he just snatched the microphone out the hands of a woman who began her question with, “I’m scared of Barack Obama… he’s an Arab terrorist…”

“No, no ma’am,” he interrupted. “He’s a decent family man with whom I happen to have some disagreements.”